


at the beginning with you

by EllaYuki



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Canon, Season 8? Don't know her., Shiro POV, Shiro's birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 21:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17988554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllaYuki/pseuds/EllaYuki
Summary: It's Shiro's birthday, and he wakes up from an impromptu nap to a quiet confession.





	at the beginning with you

He wakes up to something soft and warm pressing gently against the corner of his mouth.

It’s light, the touch, tentative, and normally, even that would have him on edge, on alert, have him on the defensive, because of the invasion of his personal space while he’s been asleep.

But somehow, even with his eyes closed, even in the utter quiet of his office (because _of course_ he’s fallen asleep on his office couch), and even when the only point they’re touching is at the lips, he can tell with a hundred percent certainty who it is. He can tell it’s Keith.

He can _always_ tell when it’s Keith.

And even in his surprise (because this isn’t something _Keith usually does_ , as far as Shiro knows, so yes, of course it’s a surprise), he keeps still, keeps his eyes closed. This seems to be a private moment for Keith, a secret, even if it involves Shiro himself.

The sweet pressure eases, and Keith lets out a soft breath. For a few long moments, there’s only silence.

Shiro wonders what Keith sees, watching Shiro like this, wonders what he’s thinking. He wants to open his eyes, to see what Keith looks like in this moment, if there’s vulnerability and soft fondness there, or embarrassment and shyness. He wants to know what Keith looks like when he thinks Shiro can’t see him.

He wants to open his eyes and see.

“Happy birthday, Shiro,” Keith says, breathes against Shiro’s cheek. “And thank you. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being born. Thank you for- for still being alive, thank you.” A deep breath’s worth of pause. (Shiro thinks he might just cry, really.) “Thank you for all that you’ve done for me, for always being there when I needed you most.” Then, even more quietly, “Thank you for always believing in me. For teaching me how to believe in myself. You are…” Another pause, like Keith is gathering his courage, or preparing himself. He takes another breath, after what feels like a small eternity. Shiro has to force himself now, to keep his eyes closed.

“You mean more to me than you can ever know,” Keith continues, finally. “More than I could ever put into words, more than I ever even thought possible.” A sigh, soft, barely there. “I love you.” And now Shiro feels like he might never be able to breathe properly again. He’s surprised Keith can’t tell he’s awake already.

“I love you,” Keith says again. “ _So much_. Sometimes I feel like I can barely even breathe with how much I love you.”

And oh, more than anything, Shiro wants to see Keith’s face now. But he’s a coward. He’s terrified. Because what if he fucks up, what if Keith still doesn’t mean it like Shiro thinks (hopes) he does, what if he ruins everything, _what if-_

So he keeps his eyes closed, and his breathing steady and the flush off his face.

But Keith brushes the hair off of Shiro’s forehead, oh, so gently, and touches his own to Shiro’s, and Shiro feels his resolve crack, just a tiny bit. Still, he holds himself still.

It only lasts until Keith mouths one more quiet ‘I love you’ against Shiro’s mouth, followed by another gentle kiss.

Something snaps inside Shiro then.

He takes a breath, long and deep, and cups the back of Keith’s head with his flesh hand, fingers threading through long, soft strands of hair. It feels like silk on his skin.

He holds Keith there through his startled gasp, pulls him closer, and takes over the kiss, makes it firmer, deepens it, and fills it with everything he’s feeling and more. He casts his doubts aside and embraces the certainty on Keith’s tongue, the truth in between their heartbeats.

They pull apart after long, breathtaking minutes, and Shiro finally opens his eyes.

Keith is… he’s… he looks…

_Gorgeous_ , a voice in the back of his mind helpfully supplies.

Keith’s mouth is red and swollen, lips parted slightly, and his pupils are blown so wide, the violet of his eyes can barely be seen anymore, half-hidden as they are behind lowered eyelids and the fan of dark lashes. There’s a flush, bright and crimson, coloring his cheeks and the bridge of his nose and the tips of his ears.

He’s the most stunning thing Shiro has ever seen in his entire life.

“I love you, too, Keith,” Shiro tells him, in the quiet between their breaths. “I love you, too.” Because he can’t not say it, not anymore. His flesh hand is still cupping Keith’s head, and his Altean one comes up to caress Keith’s cheek and brush the hair out of his face.

Keith inhales sharply at his words, eyes going wide as they finally, properly meet Shiro’s. “Shiro,” he starts, biting his lower lip. “I-, how much did you- _I didn’t._ What-“

He looks ready to bolt, even now, and Shiro can’t have that.

He sits up, careful not to let go of Keith, and then pulls him closer; not quite in his lap, but almost. He wraps him arms around Keith and hugs him tight, holds on until he can feel the tension drain from Keith’s frame. Only then does Shiro pulls back, and only enough so he can look at Keith’s face.

“I mean it,” he says, gazing steadily into Keith’s eyes. “I love you. I have for a while, but it just… never seemed like a good time to tell you, both before I died and after…” He presses another kiss to Keith’s lips before he can say anything. He needs to get this all out, now that he’s started. “Seeing your lions fall after that Robeast exploded above Earth, seeing you laying there unconscious for days and days… it was… I haven’t been so terrified even the first time I was sent into the Gladiator Arena. And I’ve never felt so useless.”

They kept saying that he’d be alright, that somehow, Black had managed to protect Keith from too much damage, that the fact that he hadn’t woken up in almost two weeks didn’t necessarily mean there would be irreversible damage. That Keith is strong, and young, and half Galra, so he’s more resilient than the average human. They kept saying that all they could do, all Shiro could do, was wait.

So Shiro sat by Keith’s hospital bed day in and day out, and wondered why he wouldn’t open his eyes already. Wondered if he’d missed his chance to say what they both needed him to say. What he should have said a long time ago. He sat there, and he prayed, and he hoped, and he waited.

And the Keith finally woke up, and still, Shiro couldn’t say it.

He says it now. Again and again.

“I love you. You’ve trusted me and had faith me and supported me when almost no one did, not even my own boyfriend. You’ve searched for me and never gave up even when the rest of the universe did. You’ve loved me and trusted me even when I tried to kill you. You’re…” He huffs, a smile on his face, and pulls Keith even closer, rests his forehead on Keith’s shoulder. “Keith, you’re it for me,” he whispers into the skin of Keith’s neck.

And Keith sucks in a sharp breath. Trembles slightly. But he doesn’t pull away, and he doesn’t stay still either. Slowly, his arms raise to wrap around Shiro’s shoulders, hesitant. Shiro squeezes him in encouragement.

“We’re both kind of stupid, aren’t we?” is what Keith says, something like delighted disbelief coloring his voice.

“I guess we are, yeah,” Shiro answers and raises his head from Keith’s shoulder. He kisses Keith’s cheek, right in the middle of his scar, and then his lips, briefly. When he pulls back, the look on Keith’s face is one of open happiness. He hasn’t seen that look on Keith’s face in years. He wants to see it every day for the rest of his life.

He kisses Keith again, and this time, he does pull him into his lap, and Keith lets him, laughing.

Shiro thinks to himself that he’s never had a better birthday in his life.

 


End file.
